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How to Manage Up
If you could pick your boss, you might make a different choice. But you don’t get much say in the matter. A bad boss relationship can wreck your career and make your life miserable. Use our free coaching tips to sharpen your “boss management” skills.
HOW TO MANAGE UP TOPICS
Let’s be honest – if you got to pick your boss, you might make a different choice. But in the real world, you don’t have much say in the matter. And even a totally incompetent manager can make your life pretty miserable. So the more effectively you can manage your boss, the more pleasant your days are likely to be.
Even if you are a cooperative and friendly person, there are probably certain people that you simply do not like to work with because you always wind up feeling frustrated, aggravated, or disappointed. Frequently, frustration with co-workers is the result of work style incompatibilities.
People have many differences in the way that they approach tasks and projects – and certain pairings seem to lead to predictable problems. The table below lists some of the most common work style opposites. See if any of your own difficult relationships reflect one or more of these differences.
Are you a “difficult employee”? Your answer to that question is probably a resounding “no” – but would your manager agree? You may assume that you would know if your boss held this view, but managers often fail to tell employees what they’re thinking. However, they may freely share their opinions with others. Getting a reputation for being “hard to manage” can definitely limit your career.
To succeed in any job, you must be able to get along with management. So take a minute to look at things from your boss’s point of view. See if you’re guilty of any of these “unmanageable” behaviors.
Although no one enjoys being criticized, we should try to view criticism as useful feedback. At best, we may learn about habits or traits that we need to change. And at the very least, we will better understand the other person’s viewpoint. Critical feedback can help you improve, both personally and professionally. The most effective people invite helpful criticism through Critical Feedback Discussions.
When you have a problem with your manager, it’s hard to know what to do. For serious issues, like sexual harassment, action definitely needs to be taken. But for more trivial matters, the best choice might be to just let it go. If you are deciding whether to make a complaint about your boss, here are some guidelines to consider:
Secrets to Winning at Office Politics
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